A Chef Made A Coronavirus-Themed Burger

A chef in Hanoi, Vietnam, has created a coronavirus-themed burger — aka a “coronaburger” — in an attempt to raise spirits and boost morale in the country’s capital city.

Chef Hoang Tung, who oversees the kitchen at the Pizza Home takeaway restaurant, told Reuters, “We have this joke that if you are scared of something, you should eat it.”

“That’s why the coronavirus isn’t scary anymore after you eat a burger in the shape of the virus itself. That way of thinking spreads joy to others during this pandemic,” he continued, adding that the shop is selling about 50 coronaburgers a day despite increasingly tighter restrictions on businesses and restaurants in the country.

It took Tung and his staff, who normally just make pizzas, one day to come up with the recipe, which uses green tea powder and vegetable juice to tint the burger buns green.

Small bits of dough are shaped into the spike-like proteins that protrude out from the virus’ cell and then attached to the buns, which are then baked. Then a beef patty topped with cheese is added, and customers may request any of the usual burger fixings like lettuce, tomato and onion.

Tung isn’t the only restauranteur making coronavirus-themed foods in the wake of the ongoing pandemic.